Everything From Virginia Tech Softball's Jordan Lynch, Emma Mazzarone, Annika Rohs At 2026 Softball Media Day

Virginia Tech softball players Jordan Lynch, Emma Mazzarone and Annika Rohs spoke to the media at the team's Media Day today. Here's the entirety of what Lynch, Mazzarone and Rohs had to say:

On how the team's offseason went:

JL: "[The offseason has] been good. We're just working really hard to get better."

On having former Hokies Emma Lemley, Cori McMillan and Bre Peck there as assistants in fall ball practice:

EM: "I think it was really good for the team. Having Lem throw live at us a lot has been good. Seeing a pitcher from the AUSL, and hopefully won't face many girls that throw like Lem does."

AR: "It's good to have more familiar faces on staff. We love to have them back."

On how exciting it is to come back:

EM: "It's only like a week until we play. We're just counting down the days. Super excited to get going."

On what Tech thinks of its newcomers and incoming players from the transfer portal:

JL: "They just kind of jumped right in and got right to work with us. They're a really good group, and it's really fun getting to know them."

AR: "Yeah, I agree. Had a strong freshman class coming in plus the transfers. It might have been half new [freshmen], half returners, but we mesh very well together."

Q: What are your goals for the season?

EM: "Go to the World Series."

JL: "Get as far as we

On how Rohs views the hitting lineup now with no McMillan, no Peck:

AR: "We're gonna be just as strong. Yeah, it sucks not having them on our roster, but we have no problem filling the spots, and we're very excited for the season."

JL: "Yeah, we may not have them like in the lineup, but we're gonna have them in the dugout, and they have a lot of experience. They can help us in other ways."

On how cool it is to see Lemley, Peck and McMillan go on to play professional:

JL: "That's really awesome. I remember coming in. I idolized all of them, and then I got to play a year with them. Got to get really close to them, and now I get to watch them on TV. So, it's really fun."

On Mazzarone preparing to take more innings and her growth from last season:

EM: "I think Coach Josh [Johnson] helped a lot. We definitely have a lot of depth in our staff too, which is fun. With Sophie [Kleiman] and Cassie [Grizzard] being seniors. I think all of us are prepared to take on a much bigger role. So, we'll be excited to see all things out."

On Lynch stepping into a higher leadership role:

JL: "It's been good. I don't really like to put a lot of pressure on myself. I just go out there and play pretty freely. So, I'm just gonna keep doing that, but I'm gonna kind of take more of a leadership role this year, and I think I'm ready for it."

On the team's go-to bus karaoke song for the South Carolina:

AR: "Every year, we have the freshmen and transfers, we all pick a song, and they have to sing at the front of the bus. Haven't thought a lot about it, but we will be plotting."

On Mazzarone's sense of the pitching staff this year:

EM: "I think we have a lot of depth, like I said earlier, and going behind Lem, she's awesome mentor. She's always in the bullpen with us, so just kind picking her brain and for all of us to just see how it plays out. Super excited."

On the ideologies the three have shared with the freshmen:

AR: "I've worked with, or been at practice with them, and they're all very ready to learn and want to learn from watching people that have done it. Because for me, this is Year 3, so just from watching the upperclassmen. They've learned a lot, and they picked it up very fast and are ready to go in the next week."

On if it's weird being the elder statesmen:

EM: "It is weird. You can't wish it away."

On if any of the freshman stand out in particular:

EM: "Avery [Layton] and [Addyson] Fisher through the pitching staff. They've done really well. They've picked up really fast, and they've been doing really good in life. So, excited to see all that."

Q: Three straight years, you guys made the regionals, but didn't get to supers. What is that little bit of improvement you need to go from being a team that makes the NCAA's to a team that advances to supers?

AR: "Just every day at practice, come ready to get quality reps and everything you got. It's not necessarily that we need to change anything. We've got another strong team this year, and our goal is to win the World Series. So, we're just going to go in with that same approach."

On reaching those lofty goals:

JL: "I really don't think we have one thing to work on and get better at. I think if we go in this year, we all have one common goal. We're gonna go to the World Series. We're gonna win the World Series. So, just keep working at that. I don't think we need to focus on, hone in on one thing to change. Because that just puts pressure on us."

On what's different for Lynch heading into Year 2:

JL: "I would say I've grown a lot. I think last year, going in, I was super nervous, putting a lot of pressure on myself. Now, I just go play free. That's what helps me."

On what the team looks to gain from its strong non-conference slate to open the season:

AR: "Early season games, we get a lot of SEC matchups. So, playing the best early in the season, we can play the best competition and learn from those games, so we can make improvements for ACC games."

On how the Alabama losses to end off last year will serve as motivation in 2026:

JL: "Those definitely hurt a little, but we're trying not to dwell on them so much because they suck. But we're not going to forget about them, so we're just going to remember them and use that to fuel us to go win some games."

On if Mazzarone has a good sense of what the team's strong suits or going to be:

EM: "Definitely offense. I think our lineup is like one through nine, everyone can hit. And then pitching side, we have a lot of depth this year, which is nice."

On Mazzarone hitting more than previous years:

EM: "Yeah, it takes a lot of work."

JL: "She puts in a lot of work."

Q: What do you still want to learn about this team that you'll maybe get a sense of in South Carolina that you don't know about yourself yet?

AR: "It's our first regular season game, so there's always a learning curve to that with a new roster. So just taking whatever we get from those games and using it to better ourselves for the next one."

On what the team has been doing in regard to short-term prep, in regard to the winter storm that has affected Blacksburg:

AR: "So, we've been taking advantage of our amazing indoor facility that we got here, and we've been trying to do what we can that day. And we can't play the game today, obviously, so we're trying to just do what we can today so we can succeed."

Q: What's it been like trying to practice with the winter storm such as that coming in?

JL: "It kind of sucks being in here sometimes. But we've been telling ourselves, we need to just lock in every single rep, because it can get repetitive in here. We're just locking in at every rep and, like, trying to get better at everything."

EM: "We were outside last week. So, we got to scrimmage outside all last week before the storm hit. Only one week inside before we play."

On the continuity giving the team confidence:

AR: "Of course, experience always helps, because playing college ball is a lot different than playing travel. So, I feel like we can use that experience to our advantage."

JL: "I think the experience is really good, but we also have newcomers that just want to learn and take any advice you give them. So, I think a mix of that and experience is really good."

On what Lynch's advice has been to the newcomers:

JL: "I just tell them to go play how you know, have confidence in yourself. Because if you believe you're good, youcan go out there and showcase that. It's like, really not good to just be like, 'I have to be good. I'm new here, have to be good.' No, like, be OK making mistakes, but learn from them."